


Synchronise

by enemy_xands



Series: Shipping Jerks [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Video Games), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Action, Ambiguous Relationships, Comedy, Developing Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-05
Updated: 2012-05-11
Packaged: 2017-11-04 20:55:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enemy_xands/pseuds/enemy_xands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Power Trick and Heart Swap. Pokemon battles are clear and decisive. Relationships? Not so much. Paul decides to start all over again, meanwhile Ash has his own journey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Croagunk's Tale

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to get started on the third & final part of this accidental trilogy. If you have something against Original Characters and/or polyamory well that sounds like a personal problem.

The ghostly Ice-type Froslass waved her arms and charged up an Ice Beam. Her target was a Croagunk; the Croagunk dashed out of the way but still caught a hit to the leg. The beam froze a spot on the Croagunk’s leg and he was immobile. 

“Croag,” the Croagunk muttered and winced. He performed a quick succession of hits on his own leg and broke the ice enough for mobility. He rolled back onto its feet and ran recklessly toward the Froslass, got mere inches away from the Pokemon’s face—and vanished.

Confused, the Froslass looked around.

“Froslass?” she said, turning left and right. When she turned around a second time, the Croagunk reappeared and landed three hits to the Froslass’s face, torso, and shoulder. She cried out and collapsed on the ground. 

A lavender-haired trainer watched from the shade. After Froslass fell, he stepped forward and clapped his hands. “Okay, Croagunk, enough. Impressive. We need to improve your Poison Sting and Revenge, but not bad.” 

The Croagunk inflated its cheek sacs and smiled. Paul recalled Froslass and rummaged through his bag for some TMs. Croagunk found himself excited; he loved learning new moves and Paul always seemed eager to teach him and make him better. He didn’t think Paul was as bad as everyone made him out to be. A little headstrong and stubborn but who wasn’t? He wondered if his former trainer felt the same.

Well, trainer wasn’t quite the word… maybe “owner”. He didn’t spend that much time with Gary before Gary went away. When was he coming back? Croagunk hoped it was soon. He couldn’t wait for him to see how strong Paul had gotten. 

They were in the final rounds of the Sinnoh League Conference. There was a break in the action for the top 16 trainers before moving on, and Croagunk felt pretty honored to be on Paul’s team. Especially considering Paul hated him when he first showed up on his doorstep out of the blue.

He had been hurting a long time, Paul had. It took Croagunk a while to find him and he had to call in a lot of favors and go through a lot of connections, but he finally found the lad on the outskirts of Veilstone. He’d run into his brother first, a kind-hearted man with permastubble and a ponytail.

“Well, look what we have here! What’s up, lil guy?”

“Croag’nk,” Croagunk had said clear as day. Paul had come out a few seconds later and scowled at him. In return, Croagunk sized it up. Paul muttered something about Croagunk’s face.

“Aw, can we keep him?” the brother—Reggie—had asked, and Croagunk sensed that it was somewhat sardonic. Reggie stood up and took Croagunk around the back anyway. Croagunk struggled and tried to claw his way back to Paul but it was futile. Reggie proceeded to raise him for a few weeks while Paul was away at the Sinnoh League conference. He had to let them know who he was and why he was there. He tried knocking down Reggie’s framed Kanto badges; subtle, but ultimately too subtle as Reggie just scolded him and blocked him from entering the house for a while. 

Finally, Croagunk had grown desperate. Paul liked to sleep with his window open, he knew. One night he crawled into Paul’s window and hunted through his personal belongings. He’d learned that humans who were Captivated liked to keep personal items from their mates. He found a foil packet and ripped it open deftly. Some sort of slick, transparent tube rolled out. Croagunk stared at it for a minute and inflated his cheek sacs, but threw it behind his shoulder and continued searching. Finally, he came upon one of the glowy-box things. Gary seemed particularly attached to his, perhaps Paul’s had something in it. He hit a few buttons and watched words he couldn’t read scroll by, but they were accompanied by pictures. After a few minutes, a picture of Gary and some text popped up. Finally. 

Croagunk stopped to admire the picture for a moment. He wasn’t used to seeing Gary in such different clothes and they were pretty neat. Suited him. But anyway, he had a mission and he hoped it worked.

He shook Paul gently. Paul stirred and blinked his eyes a few times then focused on Croagunk. His eyes quickly narrowed.

“What in the hell,” he said and tried to shove the Croagunk off. Croagunk however sat persistently on his chest and pointed between himself and the picture. Paul got up and turned the room light on.

“What do you _want_?” Paul said. Croagunk pointed at himself then slowly pointed to Gary’s picture. Paul’s face softened a moment but turned hard and angry. Croagunk expected Paul to be shocked or even a little unhappy, but he didn’t expect the trainer to Rage out completely and start wrecking his room before throwing Croagunk out. In the morning, Reggie would shake his head and quietly pick up the pieces while Paul continued to Rage out at his Pokemon. So Croagunk was sad for the pain he’d accidentally brought upon his friends. 

But, one day, Paul did a complete Reversal. He fed Croagunk and trained a little with him, then trained with him a lot until finally he gained a place on his roster. So the trainer had understood him. He had no idea what Paul was thinking but he was glad they were friends now. 

The League conference would resume in a week. Paul took out his TM case and inserted the first disc. It scanned Croagunk and beeped.

“Poison Jab,” Paul said approvingly. “And now Brick Break.”

Scan, beep. Croagunk tried out his new Poison Jab and surprised himself with his own speed. On a nearby tree he tested out a Brick Break. He smiled. Their team would make it all the way. He dashed over and hugged Paul’s legs.

“Croag!”

Paul looked at him strangely for a few minutes then reached down and petted him. Oh yes, they made a winning combination. 

They wrapped up their training session and went back to Paul’s hotel room on Lily of the Valley Island. Paul let Croagunk stay out of his ball more often than not, but when he was recalled he had his own Ultra Ball. They ate well and rested up for their next training session in the morning. During the night, Croagunk flipped over on the floor and spied on Paul staring longingly at his cell phone.


	2. Like Empty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, Ash gets some devastating (for him) news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously for the moment we're just ignoring anime canon even more so than the previous stories but not QUITE to the point of AU I don't think, aside from the fact that everyone's aged up and what not. Also it just makes sense that Ash would have "issues" doesn't it?

In his hotel room, Ash sat down on his bed, feeling weighed down by his six Pokeballs and gear.

“So… you’re really not coming?”

Brock shook his head, still smiling even though he just dropped a bridge onto Ash’s life. 

“I’ll cheer you on at the conference finals! But after that, I think it’s time I got back to Kanto. I have a gym to watch after, you know? I thought I’d just tell you…”

“You could have waited,” Ash blurted out. “Or just left without telling me. I wouldn’t have minded.” Brock sighed. Here we go again. Ash would get passive aggressive and pout until he got his way. Brock still wasn’t sure where he’d picked that up from. Dawn didn’t do it, Misty didn’t do it, and Brock himself didn’t do it. Ash only started it when he returned from the Orange Islands. Whenever he’d muse about getting back to his gym Ash would sigh and hem and haw about one thing or another. It never _stopped_ Brock from leaving whenever the League called him back but it was always a long drawn out battle. 

“Don’t do that,” Brock warned. Not this time.

“But Brock, why do you have to leave? I thought you had a trainer in charge of the gym.”

“You know I can’t leave a Jr. Trainer in charge for too long, and I’ve already been here for a few months.”

“Gary didn’t seem to have a problem,” Ash grumbled.

“Gary said he put an Ace at the top, and people don’t hit his gym every week,” Brock said, and chuckled a little with admiration. “I have a reputation to protect.” 

Ash abruptly leaped to his feet and grabbed the collar of Brock’s vest. He pulled him down in one swift motion and rested his head on his chest. 

“W-we haven’t seen all of Sinnoh yet, you know? You can tell the League you’re exploring.”

Brock gently nudged Ash’s head off his chest. “Ash, it’s not that I have to leave. I just want to.”

Ash sat up. “ _Want_ to?!”

“Yeah.” Brock’s mouth suddenly felt dry and sticky. “I mean, you have Dawn and you guys get on pretty well, I guess I feel like you don’t… need me anymore.” 

Ash shook his head. “Of _course_ I need you. You’re my best friend.”

“Yeah, sure,” Brock said, suddenly tired. “I know. But you’ll be alright. We’ve been hanging out and traveling for a long time now, it’s okay if one of us goes and does our own thing every now and then, right?” 

Ash looked like he was about to start hardcore pouting again but he straightened his face out. “Okay. Okay, yeah, you’re right. Fine.” He lowered himself back onto Brock’s chest and closed his eyes. He listened to Brock’s steady breathing for a few minutes, looking out the window.

“I’d better get training,” he said and sat up. He swung his gear pack over his shoulder and headed outside. After Ash had been gone a moment, Brock sat up and let out a long breath. He rubbed at his eyes and rubbed his temples. That could have gone better but it could have gone a lot worse. Ash still acted like such a kid even after all this time. At least, Brock thought it was an act. Ash could show moments of maturity and do mature things on occasion, making it even more jarring when he reverted back to a ten year old. 

He looked out the window and sat Ash and his Pokemon sparring in the hotel’s outdoor training field. He was in the top 16 and Brock had no doubt he would be able to enter the top 8. He knew Paul would be there too. He grinned; how were Paul and Gary doing anyway? Paul had what it took to be top 8 too, maybe even higher. The fight between them would be something to see. The thought of battle got his blood rushing and he couldn’t wait to get back to testing trainers. First, he needed to request another trainer from the League. Two didn’t seem like enough of a threat for potential trainers.

One of the Pokeballs attached to his belt jiggled. Brock grinned; Marshtomp must have cabin fever. He let the Pokemon out.

“Marsh!” it said, taking a minute to run around in a circle then grab one of Brock’s legs.

“Wanna go outside?” Brock said. Marshtomp climbed onto the windowsill and watched the mock battle. Ash looked awfully intense and his Pokemon seemed hesitant. Brock noticed it too and put a hand under his chin.

“He took the news that I’m leaving really bad,” he said to no one in particular but Marshtomp nodded.

“Marsh?” 

“I think he’s okay but… I guess I just don’t get it. Maybe I should have talked it over with him first.” Brock looked over to his Pokemon. “So let’s leave him alone for a little bit, eh?” 

Marshtomp nodded and made a beeline for the bathroom. Brock followed him and filled up the bathtub for Marshtomp to splash around in for a while.

Around dinner time, Ash finally came back inside, exhausted. Pikachu was slumped around his shoulders. Ash saw Brock and Marshtomp in the hotel lobby and waved weakly at him.

“So tired,” Ash muttered.

“You’ve had a long day. Get some food and rest up, okay? I’m heading back to Sunyshore for the night.”

“Oh… how are you going to get back there? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just stay here?” 

Brock tapped the side of his nose. “Nah, me and Onix know a quick way back. Take care, Ash. Train hard!”

“Yeah… thanks…” Ash said to Brock’s back as the Gym Leader exited the lobby. Pikachu made a noise next to his ear and he scowled, but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he trudged up to his room. Once inside, he removed his cell phone component from his gear pack and dropped the rest near the door. He flopped on the bed, barely giving Pikachu enough time to roll off his back and out of the way.

“Pika!” Pikachu said and it somehow sounded admonishing. 

“Sorry,” Ash said. He’d even manage to lay on the hand holding his phone at the same time. He stared for a moment then unfolded himself from the awkward position he was in and called Dawn.

The phone rang for a while and Ash wasn’t sure she would pick up. She was probably busy doing her own training for Contests. Plus she didn’t have a voice mail, which was super annoying. But she eventually picked up with a barely restrained yawn.

“Ash? It’s eight o’clock, what’s up?”

“Not asleep already, are you?” he teased.

“Maybe!” Dawn yelled. “But I’m awake now!”

“How’s your Contest stuff going?”

“My Contest ‘stuff’,” Dawn drawled, “is going really well. I feel super confident that I’ll sweep this year! What about you, Ash?”

“Training’s going good. I know I’m facing some stiff competition but you know me. I never back down from a challenge.” His smile wavered and turned into a frown. “Brock’s leaving.”

“What? Like right now?”

“No, after the conference. He’s going back to Kanto.”

“Oh, he has to get back to his gym right? Too bad! Maybe he’ll visit again.”

Ash sat up and blurted out, “You weren’t supposed to take his side!”

Dawn stuttered at the outburst. “T-take his side? I didn’t take anyone’s side!”

Ash sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You’re right, you didn’t. I’m sorry. I’m just a little tired.”

“Ash, is… is everything okay? You don’t sound well.”

Ash fell back on the bed. Pikachu came over with what appeared to be a Poffin. Ash briefly wondered where he got that from, but then Pikachu was trying to shove it into his mouth. “Um, no thanks Pikachu.”

“Pii?” 

“No, I’m good! Thanks buddy.” Ash tickled Pikachu’s ear before returning to the phone conversation. “Okay, sorry. Um. I’m fine.” 

“You sound like you’re taking this awfully hard. Hasn’t he left before?”

“Yes,” Ash snapped again. “That sucked. He came back but…” He huffed another sigh. “He’s one of my best friends. It isn’t the same without him around. It feels… feels weird.” 

Ash was caught up in describing his mixed emotions but he could sense Dawn hesitating over the phone. “What is it?” 

“Weird like… like empty? Something’s missing?” 

“Yeah! That’s totally it. Like empty.”

“Uh-huh.” Something clicked and fumbled over the phone. “Maybe you should tell him that.” 

“Do you think it’ll make him stay longer?”

“I don’t know, but you should… you should tell him anyway.”

Ash rubbed the back of his neck and suddenly his face felt hot. “I mean… I guess I could. I’ll try it.”

“It’s late, I’m going to go, okay? Call me back anytime during the day.” 

“Okay! Thanks, Dawn.”

Dawn hung up her phone and gave it an accusatory look. Ash was so clueless that it was painful sometimes—in a metaphorical sense but also emotionally. He didn’t mean to hurt the people around him, he just wasn’t very tuned into _human_ emotions all the time and obvious hints, even when he was receiving them and especially not when he was the one giving them off. She wondered how Brock would react. Brock was a good sport about a lot of things but she wondered how much he understood and how much went over his head too.

“Guys,” she muttered to herself. “Piplup, don’t ever become a guy.”

“Pippi?” Piplup chirped from its miniature bed.

“Never mind,” she said, and turned in for the night, again.


	3. Play No Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Kanto, Gary catches the Sinnoh League conference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you think we were going to angst forever? Nope! This is about Poke battles and sex. Mostly that. Back on anime timeline mostly so there shouldn't be any surprises. Have you wondered why Barry hasn't been in the story lately? Me neither. What a shame...

Gary stood on the platform in his gym and watched another wayward trainer get stomped by his Ace Trainer Salma. Truth be told he was rather glad, they were about to close up for the day and he was tired. When he was tired he tended to just hand out badges, and not only was that a disservice, but also illegal under League rules now. But the girl with a spark in her eyes had her hopes dashed by Salma’s formidable Slowking. Where the hell had she even gotten that thing anyway? He didn’t want to know. 

As she battled he watched her move. Her strong muscular legs were encased in black leggings and shorts, her torso in her official Ace coat and shirt. He loved watching her work. He loved watching her win, and fortunately it had been a very long time since she had lost (he couldn’t say the same for his other Aces, however). 

The trainer accepted her los with dignity and found her way out. His trainers looked to him and he clapped his hands.

“Alright, let’s get out of here guys. Same time tomorrow.”

A few of the trainers snickered but Salma simply stared out into space. She may have even grunted faintly. So serious all the time, she reminded Gary of someone.

As the other Aces filed out, Gary gently bumped into her. 

“Good work out there,” he said. “When I die, this shall all be yours.” He dramatically swept his arm across the expanse of the gym. If Salma found any humor in it, her face didn’t show it. Gary sighed. Tough crowd.

“Why’d you leave Ari in charge when you left for research?” she blurted suddenly. Gary took a few seconds to remember.

“… You’re still mad about that?”

“Yes. I am the best. You know I deserved it. Pig.”

“Whoa, excuse me miss, but as long as I’m signing your paychecks you don’t talk to me that way.” 

Salma ground her teeth and spit in his general direction. Gary’s eye twitched. What was her problem with him today? He couldn’t believe she was still pissed that he hadn’t left the gym in her care the last time he left. Or the last three times. But he was getting around to it, one of these days. Maybe he would just take off to Cinnabar Island and let her have the damn thing for a week or two, if that would appease her. 

“If you do that again you’re scrubbing the whole gym with that Lickitung,” he warned. She still scowled at him. “Speaking of which, I could go for a sandwich. Come with?”

Salma was caught off guard. She blinked, stunned. “W-what? You invited me to lunch?”

“Well, dinner I guess,” Gary said, checking his watch. “Some dinner though. Remember when we stayed open twenty four-seven? Who let me do that?”

Salma shrugged. “We were kids, we could do that sort of thing then.”

“Nah, it was still stupid. Come on.” 

Salma and Gary headed to an all-hours diner near the gym and enjoyed the greasiest of sandwiches. They spent a few hours there and afterwards it seemed only natural that she would come home with him. As she undressed in his bedroom, Gary decided she didn’t remind him of a certain someone at all. He was relieved, at least—at least he hadn’t allowed himself to be seduced by the similarities; he wasn’t _that_ sad yet. They were both obsessed with power but Salma’s desire was superficial and she didn’t bother with any philosophical pretenses. Just a higher position. She was a lot more confident as well. She wasn’t even sleeping with him to move up in ranks, she knew she could win it handily on her own. To his horror, Gary realized this was more of a pity fuck in his favor.

“How the hell,” he muttered.”

“Hm?” Salma laid back on the bed and waited.

“Oh, nothing, just talkin’ to myself.” 

He crawled onto the bed and kissed her, laid a hand on her breast and massaged it. He pinched at one of her nipples and her composure finally fell. One hand immediately shot to his cock and the other wrapped around to his ass. They fondled each other roughly and barked out their sensitive spots to each other and the irony was not lost on Gary. Salma even came in a bellicose manner, grabbing the headboard and banging it against the wall in a steady pattern. Good thing he owned this place but he wouldn’t be happy with the damage later.

In the morning, Gary woke up early as usual and looked over at his Ace. He noted that he had never seen her with her hair down before now. She was beautiful and didn’t remind him of Paul at all.

Shit, he’d said his name. He promised himself he wouldn’t say that name for a while, not because it was attached to any bad memory but because it may actually work as a subconscious beacon. He hated the thought of that. Like he would leap through the mirror and demand a man-to-man battle. He did leave in a rather ambiguous manner after all. So ambiguous he didn’t even know if they were still together and if this one night stand was technically cheating. Perhaps he should have thought of that much earlier than right now. 

Instead, he put his old clothes on and took a quick job around outside. He jogged to the outskirts of town up to the road that led to Viridian Forest and circled back around. By the time he’d come back to the house he had worked up a good sweat and nearly forgot all his unanswered questions. He reached his bedroom and saw Salma half-dressed and wrapped up in his television. The television he had not given her permission to touch.

“What’s on?” he asked somewhat sarcastically. 

“Sinnoh League conference battle.”  
“Oh.” Gary said, then his eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, oh, oh.”

“We already did that last night,” Salma said dryly. Gary blushed lightly.

“Fu—no. Okay. Whose on?”

“This purple haired dude versus this blonde kid.” She turned to look at him. “Blonde kid is losing it.” 

Gary sat down next to her and watched the battle. Of course Blondie was losing but Salma didn’t mention how badly. The kid was down to a Hitmonlee who was looking pretty battered.

“Hitmonlee, Close Combat!” Blondie shouted. He didn’t look too intimidated but his fists were clenched and even from here Gary could see his body shaking. He watched intently as Paul’s Gastrodon shrugged off the hit.

“Gastrodon, Muddy Water!”

The Gastrodon cried out and surged on a wave of muddied water filled with sticks and leaves and who knew what else. The Hitmonlee was caught under and flushed to the other end of the stadium. It stood up bravely but Gary wished it had stayed down. Barry looked like he did too. 

“Hitmonlee! Can you go on?” he shouted. The stadium was going wild and the commentators speculated on whether Hitmonlee could take another hit. Not that it mattered since Paul still had about three Pokemon ready to fight on his team. 

“Hitmonlee, High Jump Kick!”

Gary crossed his fingers that the Hitmonlee didn’t miss. It didn’t, and knocked the Gastrondon back. At least it did some damage and could go out in a blaze of glory. Gastrodon took it out with another Muddy Water attack and the commentators wildly declared Paul’s victory.

“Trainer Paul has swept the top 16 competitors and now has a place among the Elite Top 8!”

“The Top 8 had better watch out!”

Paul turned to face the audience and the camera zoomed in on him. Something had changed in him again; he certainly didn’t look like he was there to play games. Gary leaned in and sighed. 

“Damnit, I miss that bastard,” he said before he even realized it. Salma looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

“You know him?”

“Yeah, he’s a… a friend. Sweet kid.”

Salma simply nodded in response. Another match was coming up but Gary didn’t recognize the combatants and they weren’t nearly as interesting. When would Ash be on, or had he already fought? As Salma dressed, Gary scanned the list of trainers. To his joy, Ash had already placed in the Top 8 and would be matched up with Paul tomorrow. He quickly jotted down the time and the channel. Salma said her goodbyes even though they would see each other again in just a few hours. For now Gary was wrapped up in the post battle statistics between commercial breaks.

Paul really had been sweeping the competition lately, like he was just looking for a challenge. Like he would challenge the gods. He smiled a little; that was his kid. He hoped he would see him again soon.

After the last two battle contestants, the press stopped for an interview with Paul. Gary knew he was late but it didn’t matter. They asked him some typical questions and Paul hardly looked at them. Just in the background, Gary saw a familiar figure.

“Whoa, is that my Croagunk?!”

He recognized it by the steady, judgmental inflation of its cheeks. Gary realized that Croagunk was the sixth Pokemon. Bringing an unevolved Pokemon into the fray was a big risk, but Paul must have been incredibly confidant that Croagunk could handle it. He prayed anyway; if not, Croagunk would quickly find itself booted off the team, as per Paul’s “training” methods.

“Will we see you in new training duds by the next battle? I think an Ace coat would look fantastic on you,” said one interviewer that Gary could see. Paul paused mid-step and Croagunk gave him a withering look. The interviewer said something to the effect of “its face!” and shrank back to let Paul and his team pass. 

Gary turned the TV off and finally put his clothes on. He grabbed his Pokeball belt and jostled them a little.

“Show time, guys,” he said, and headed for the gym.

 

Before the afternoon, a trainer finally managed to earn herself an Earth Badge. She had deftly swept past the competition and overtaken Gary with sheer force. Gary had to silently applaud her as he awarded her the badge and explained the TM. She was rather perky and cheerful, skipping out of the gym the same way she had skipped in. His Aces looked pretty exhausted but it was too early for them to wrap up. Maybe the rest of the competition would be better. 

A few more Youngsters straggled in and were either stopped by his Ace trainers or, in the case of the one that managed to reach the end, Gary himself. Sent home to reflect upon their failings or sent back outside scowling. Gary had set a limit a few months ago of only one attempt per day after he noticed a few trainers would simply heal and come right back, having learned absolutely nothing and sometimes losing worse than before. He couldn’t wait for the day that he could enforce a mandatory essay as well.

After the last one slid out on the colored blocks, Gary announced that they would close up for the day and would be opening late tomorrow. 

“What for?” Benito asked. 

“The reasons,” Gary said.

Salma quirked her eyebrows. “You’re watching the match tomorrow, aren’t you?”

Gary hid a smirk behind his fist and pretended to cough. “Well, some of those lucky contestants might find their way over here and I need to be aware of the competition.”

Salma rolled her eyes. “Which of your friends should we cheer for?”

“We cheer for everyone and no one all at the same time. Now, go home before I change my mind.”

Ari asked, “Change it about what?” but his question was never answered. The Aces filed out and Gary left behind them, turning off all the lights and shutting off the light pads on the floor. 

At home, Gary set his clock so he wouldn’t miss the first of the Top 8 battles. Not that he was worried about waking up on time, but it never hurt. He briefly thought about the bizarre interviewer’s question. Change his clothes. Why on earth? It was just a Poke battle. He liked Paul’s clothes the way they were. They were unique and set him apart. Although if he had to choose, he had to admit Paul would look great in the Ace garb. Or even one of those old Rocket leather outfits. Or…

Gary flipped over on his side, his hand trapped between his thighs and the other clutching a pillow. Jesus, what was he doing? What was the lesson here, besides he wasn’t over anything at all and was sort of a pervert? He resisted the urge to jack off and slowly put his other hand under the pillow. It was okay, he could work all that frustrated energy off on some unsuspecting trainers tomorrow, or just call Salma on again, if she felt like it. It wouldn’t be that different.


End file.
